Bela Fleck
b. c.1953, New York City, New York, USA. Fleck has been credited with expanding the parameters of the banjo by combining traditional bluegrass with jazz and classical music, similar to what David Grisman did with the mandolin. Inspired by the song Duelling Banjos in the film DELIVERANCE, Fleck took up the banjo at the age of 14. He moved to Kentucky in his early '20s to start the bluegrass group Spectrum. In 1981 he relocated to Nashville, joining the influential New Grass Revival, with whom he stayed for eight years. In 1989 he formed the Flecktones with Howard Levy (keyboards/harmonica), Victor Wooten (bass) and Roy Wooten (drumitar—a guitar wired to electric drums). The group's debut album for Warner Brothers sold over 50,000 copies and reached the Top 20 on the Billboard jazz charts.